Absolutely loved Ireland and the rest of Europe July 28, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Very good professors and modules. Lots of time spent in the studio but far less time spent on work outside of classes than at Middlebury.

On-site administration of your program

All of the people at Arcadia were extremely friendly and helpful. Grianne put in a lot of effort to organize program trips and gatherings which was very nice.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was in a 6 person apartment with shared common room and kitchen. We all had our own singles with individual bathrooms which was very nice.

No meal plan, so we had to buy and cook our own food. But I loved cooking and had a good time doing it with friends.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

A lot of people I was friends with ended up being other international students as a result of how accommodations worked out but I met a lot of Irish kids in my modules and they were all very friendly. Also definitely able to meet Irish people in the city.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Never had any health issues, but if I did I feel confident I would have been able to get them resolved.

No guns in Ireland or all of Europe, so I felt very safe in general.

Although my program was relatively rigorous in terms of schooling I was still able to do a lot of activities outside of school and travel a lot of places on weekends. I also learned a lot more regarding architecture than I would have at Middlebury based on the fact that I took all architecture classes except for one throughout the entire year.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Dublin was definitely not as cheap as I was expecting it to be, but I was still able to spend relatively little depending on how many times per week I went out into the city. Any more than 2 nights in the city and I would have been spending closer to $200 plus.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Irish language was not a Middlebury taught language, so although I was required to take one class in the subject, almost nobody in Ireland speaks the language so there were pretty much zero instances where it was needed.

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• Apartment

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The large focus on Studio courses, which I feel are the most important thing to prepare students who want to go into the field of architecture.
• Focus on doing work during class time, and not so much on doing work outside of class.
• Living in an apartment, having my own bathroom, and being able to cook my own food.

• I thought everything was great, not sure what I would improve.

The Avid Adventurer